Dither reeds are used to dither (i.e., oscillate) components by small controllable amounts. Currently available dither reeds are flexed by attaching a piezo-electric element to the dither reed and applying a voltage to bend the dither reed. When the voltage is oscillated from positive to negative and back to positive, the dither reed oscillates. Similarly, the bending of cantilevered beams in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) is controlled applying a voltage to a piezo-electric element attached to the cantilevered beams.